The aftermath of the French Revolution only strengthened the nature of the French state that has been known, despite changes of regimes and reforms, as one of the most centralized states in western Europe. French nationalism is unique because of the ways in which the Ancien Régime.c. fifteenth century to the later eighteenth century) transformed France into a centralized absolute monarchy. This centralization often means that most decisions, even the ones concerning national ideologies, are frequently made in and disseminated by the metropolitan center—Paris, the political and cultural Mecca. When Louis XIV moved his court to Versailles in 1682 important decisions were taken there; then Versailles was the metropolitan center that dictated how French nationalism and colonialism and their relationship to slavery would be shaped until the Revolution. However, looking at the constant transatlantic exchange of men and ideas between France and French Caribbean colonies renders the notions of center, margin, and periphery more flexible. To assert its hegemony in the Americas as well as to ensure its financial viability, France had to take into account, if not negotiate with, its overseas citizens. Colonists born in the French Caribbean dared to want their own say concerning their place in the Greater France and its national idea. Examining their endeavors and the community they created allows for more nuanced notions of the power of France's centralization and Paris as fabrique.nd the magnitude of all things French.

Scholars need to recalibrate their approach to French nationalism to take into account the shifting ideologies of Creole writers. An important place to begin looking for those ideologies is in the nineteenth-century Creole novel.